! 

i 


BULGARIA 


The  Gospel  Printing 

Press. 


I 


\ 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY, 
AUBURN,  N.  Y. 


? 


MAP  OF  BULGARIA 

AND  ADJOINING  COUNTRIES. 


THE  MARKED  INCIDENTS  OF  MY  LIFE. 


Out  of  the  Turks’  Hands. 

The  Bulgarian  massacres  were  committed  eighteen 
years  ago.  The  massacres  and  the  war,  known  as  the 
Russo-Turkish  war  (1877-8)  resulted  in  the  creation  of 
a  New  and  Free  Bulgaria. 

My  home  was  in  the  midst  of  battle  and  carnage. 
The  thunders  of  canon  in  the  distance,  the  smoke  of 
the  burnings  villages  and  towns,  which  we  could  see  on 
all  sides,  and  rumors  of  bloodshed,  had  excited  the 
people  to  the  highest  pitch.  W  e  could  trace  the  ap¬ 
proach  of  the  Turks  by  the  smoke  of  the  burning  vil¬ 
lages  afar  off,  and  by  the  people  who  had  escaped  and 
were  fleeing  to  the  city.  On  one  morning  85,000  Turks 
armed  to  the  teeth  reached  our  city.  After  six  or 
eight  hours  of  resistance  in  an  unequal  battle,  the  Turks 
took  the  city  and  commenced  the  massacre.  They 
rushed  upon  us  from  all  sides,  demolishing,  butcher¬ 
ing  and  burning.  We  were  in  a  basement  room  stored 
with  furniture,  when  the  Turks  burst  open  the  door. 
In  a  moment  we  concealed  ourselves  under  the  furni¬ 
ture.  I  dropped  in  between  two  flour  barrels  ;  my 
father  to  my  right  with  a  wrashtub  over  him,  and  my 
uncle  with  his  child  in  his  arms  not  more  than  five  feet 
in  front  of  us  under  a  piece  of  furniture  ;  I  did  not 
notice  where  the  rest  of  the  family  were  hidden. 
While  the  Turks  were  breaking  in  the  door,  the  child 
in  uncle’s  arms  became  frightened  and  wras  crying 
when  they  came  in.  The  father  and  the  child  were 
discovered.  He  began  to  plead  for  his  life,  but  the 
Turks  cried  out,  u The  knife,”  and  killed  them  both 
without  hesitation.  The  child’s  last  cry,  after  it  was 
struck  with  the  knife,  was  for  her  father. 

By  the  time  night  began  to  fall  the  entire  city  was 
on  fire.  It  was  death  to  stay  in  the  house,  and  death 
to  come  out.  The  Turks  were  on  the  streets  shooting 
any  man,  woman,  or  child  who  should  appear.  Those 
who  feared  the  Turks  more  than  the  fire,  stayed  in  and 
were  burned  alive.  When  our  house  caught  fire, 
father  and  I  attempted  to  cross  to  the  other  side  of  the 
street  for  less  danger  from  the  fire.  As  soon  as  we  ap¬ 
peared  on  the  street,  the  Turks  saw  us  and  started 


4 


toward  us.  Fattier  told  me  to  run  across  and  hide, 
and  I  obeyed.  But  he  stayed  back.  About  three 
minutes  afterwards  I  came  slowly  out  to  watch  for  him. 
I  saw  he  had  fallen  about  the  middle  of  the  street, — 
killed. 

I  was  left  alone.  Soon  the  fires  were  burning  on  all 
sides  of  me,  and  when  the  evening  grew  still  darker,  I 
went  out  on  the  street,  let  happen  what  might,  for  I 
had  given  up  all  hope  of  being  left  alive.  Some  of  the 
streets  which  I  passed  through,  were  literally  covered 
with  the  dead  bodies  of  men  and  women,  and  even 
children.  I  was  caught  by  three  different  Turks  that 
night,  and  how  I  escaped  death  is  still  a  mystery  to 
me.  I  succeeded  in  getting  away  alive  from  the  first 
Turk  I  approached,  but  only  to  fall  in  the  hands  of  a 
crowd  of  them,  for  it  was  impossible  to  avoid  them. 
No  sooner  were  they  attracted  by  me  than  I  saw  one 
of  the  regular  soldiers  loading  his  gun,  and  a  second 
before  he  raised  it  towards  me  I  flew  towards  him, 
pushing  the  muzzle  of  his  gun  to  one  side.  He  would 
push  me  away  from  himself  with  one  hand  for  a  chance 
to  shoot  me,  but  I  held  close  to  him,  away  from  the 
muzzle  of  the  gun.  This  lasted  six  or  eight  seconds. 
Then  breaking  away  from  him,  I  ran  around  and  be¬ 
hind  the  Turks  who  were  looking  on,  without  giving 
him  a  safe  shot.  This  must  have  lasted  six  or  eight 
seconds  more.  I  could  not  say  whether  those  looking 
on  were  amused,  or  a  thought  of  benevolence  came 
over  them,  but  one  of  the  crowd  interfered,  told  the 
regular  soldier  to  stop,  and  asked  me  if  I  was  willing 
to  become  a  Turk.  I  said,  yes.  Then  he  asked  me  if 
I  was  willing  to  become  his  boy.  I  said,  yes.  (I  was 
ten  or  eleven  years  old).  This  good  hearted  Turk  took 
me  to  his  home  for  the  night,  where  I  was  safe  for  ten 
hours.  In  the  morning  while  I  was  helping  do  some¬ 
thing  around  the  house,  a  woman  dressed  in  Turkish 
woman’s  clothes  spoke  to  me,  calling  me  by  name.  I 
recognized  her  by  the  voice  that  she  was  our  neighbor 
who  had  disguised  herself  as  a  Turkish  woman.  In  a 
few  minutes  she  left  me  and  started  to  go  away. 
Avoiding  being  seen  by  any  one  I  followed  after  her. 
Falling  in  with  a  large  number  of  Turks  and  their  fam- 


5 


ilies,  but  unrecognized  by  them,  we  succeeded  in  reach¬ 
ing  a  city  after  two  or  three  days’  journey. 

What  a  wasting  of  life  we  saw,  and  what  a  destruc¬ 
tion  of  property.  Bulgaria  was  swept  away  by  tire 
and  sword.  None  of  our  male  relatives  were  left  alive, 
save  one,  and  that  was  a  year  old  child.  Many  of  the 
women  died  of  fear,  plague  and  want.  There  were 
times  when  we  had  nothing  to  eat  for  days,  nothing  to 
sleep  on  but  the  bare  field  ;  and  the  suffering  during 
the  winter  after  the  massacre  is  never  to  be  forgotten 
by  those  who  experienced  it. 


Out  of  the  Devil’s  Haxds. 

After  a  few  years  of  haphazard  life,  when  I  saw  that 
it  was  not  the  whole  world  that  had  been  wasted,  I 
made  up  my  mind  to  leave  the  place  where  home  had 
been,  and  to  strike  out  into  the  world.  It  is  surpris¬ 
ing  how  a  man  will  think  of  his  native  home  and  be 
reluctant  to  leave  it,  even  though  it  be  a  heap  of  ashes. 
But  I  was  away. 

I  went  as  far  as  Constantinople,  in  Turkey.  While 
strolling  along  the  Bosphorus  one  day,  I  came  in 
sight  of  a  banner  spangled  with  stars  and  banded  with 
stripes,  waving  from  the  top  of  Robert  College,  upon 
the  hill.  It  was  the  American  flag.  I  thought  it  was 
the  proudest  flag  I  had  ever  seen,  for  it  floated  un¬ 
molested  over  Turkish  soil.  My  blood  leaped  for  joy 
when  I  caught  a  sight  of  it  for  the  first  time  in  my 
life,  and  realized  it  was  the  emblem  of  freedom  Em¬ 
barking  upon  a  merchant  steamer  at  Constantinople,  I 
sailed  through  the  Mediterranean,  then  North  on  the 
Atlantic  and  through  the  North  Sea  to  Hamburg, 
Germany,  working  part  of  my  way.  From  Hamburg 
I  sailed  over  to  London,  and  from  London,  at  last, 
across  the  Atlantic.  About  two  months  and  a  half 
after  leaving  Bulgaria  I  found  myself  in  New  York. 
I  knew  no  one  there,  no  one  knew  me,  and  no  one 
cared  to  know  me.  I  never  lay  down  to  sleep  under 
shelter  so  long  as  I  stayed  in  the  city.  My  nights 
I  spent  tramping  around  the  harbor,  or  being 


6 


chased  through  the  parks  by  the  police.  My  frame 
was  altogether  too  weak  for  heavy  work  after  thirty- 
four  days  on  rough  sea,  being  sea  sick  a  good  part  of 
the  time,  but  when  I  was  offered  work  in  a  brick  yard 
in  Plainfield,  N.J.,  I  gladly  took  it,  and  worked  for 
three  days,  when  I  was  taken  sick.  The  man  bought 
a  ticket  for  me  and  hurried  me  off  to  New  York. 

Unhospitable  New  York,  1  left  the  same  day  for 
good.  It  missed  absolutely  nothing  by  my  going  away, 
for  I  did  not  have  a  cent  in  my  pocket,  so  carried  noth¬ 
ing  out.  I  could  not  get  my  dinner  when  I  left  the 
city  but  expected  to  get  it  as  soon  as  we  reached  New 
Haven,  Conn.  I  arrived  at  New  Haven  after  dark  on 
the  boat,  and  it  soon  became  apparent  that  I  was  not 
going  to  have  any  supper  either.  My  first  night  was 
spent  in  the  jail.  There  was  not  a  square  inch  of  board 
to  lie  down  on,  only  a  stone  floor,  and  four  stone  walls. 
I  remained  in  the  jail  all  night,  waiting  for  the  morn¬ 
ing.  And  when  the  police  let  me  out  I  thought  that  I 
was  going  to  get  something  to  eat  for  breakfast.  But 
there  was  not  any  breakfast  to  be  had  that  morning. 
I  found  occupation  at  a  wood  pile,  splitting  kindling 
wood  for  the  city,  and  worked  over  four  hours  before 
I  got  any  thing  to  eat.  The  longest  four  hours  I  ever 
worked. 

It  made  no  difference  to  me  wdiere  I  was.  One  place 
was  as  bad  as  another.  Driven  from  Connecticut, 
Massachusetts,  Vermont,  Canada,  I  turned  westward 
to  Chicago,  hoping  that  the  devil  would  stay  back 
East,  and  not  be  following  after  me.  But  the  very  first 
place  I  entered  in  Chicago  was  a  saloon  on  Fourth  Ave. 
That  saloon  marked  the  turning  point  in  my  life.  Four 
months  passed,  and  a  year  and  a  half  had  elapsed  since 
I  left  home.  Life  had  become  a  pest  to  me,  being  out 
of  work,  without  any  friend,  ragged  and  dirty,  wear¬ 
ing  the  same  suit  in  the  winter  that  I  wore  in  the  sum¬ 
mer,  without  an  overcoat.  Let  not  my  friends  think 
that  1  was  in  the  habit  of  drinking  while  lingering  in 
the  saloon.  I  was  in  the  saloon  because  there  was  no 
other  place  to  go.  I  was  sick  and  tired  of  the  sur¬ 
roundings,  but  somehow  I  could  not  help  myself  out. 
Eeligion,  I  had  left  none  as  far  as  I  could  tell.  The 


7 


night  of  the  twenty-fifth  of  December  was  the  night  of 
my  conversion.  I  went  in  to  tell  the  saloon  keeper 
that  I  could  not  pay  my  rent  for  the  week,  and  asked 
him  to  wait  till  I  could  get  something  to  do.  Without 
any  other  warning  than  a  curse,  he  aimed  a  quick  blow 
at  me,  which  struck  square  in  the  face.  I  hardly 
realized  what  happened. —  A  thought  of  my  life,  past 
and  present,  came  before  me  in  a  moment  of  time. 
That  blow  brought  me  to  my  senses  ;  I  came  to  myself. 
And  while  a  thought  of  being  without  a  home  and 
without  a  friend  was  pressing  upon  me,  a  power,  which 
I  did  not  realize  at  the  time,  moved  me  to  cry  out : 
“Oh  Devil,  this  is  the  last  day  I  have  served  you.”  I 
started  to  go  out,  and  just  as  I  crossed  the  threshold 
on  the  side  walk,  I  said:  “Oh,  God,  from  now 
on  I  will  serve  you,  and  I  will  go  back  to  Bulgaria  and 
preach.  ”  I  wiped  the  blood  off  my  face,  found  my 
hat  in  the  street,  and  went  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  rooms 
at  Farwell  Hall,  on  Madison  street.  I  sat  by  the  middle 
window  in  the  reading  room,  overlooking  the  street, 
and  stayed  there  till  about  nine  or  half  past,  ponder¬ 
ing,  with  no  one  near  me,  there  being  only  a  few  men 
in  the  room,  some  of  whom  were  reading,  others  asleep 
in  their  chairs.  It  would  soon  be  ten  o’clock,  when 
the  rooms  would  be  closed,  and  I  had  to  go  out. — 
“Where  am  I  going  to  stay  tonight  ?”  It  was  too  cold 
to  walk  the  streets  all  night  without  an  overcoat.  As 
I  thought  on  and  on,  the  tears  began  to  run  down  my 
face. —  But  while  crying  a  thought  of  great  joy  burst 
upon  me  ;  a  feeling  such  as  would  come  if  news  reach¬ 
ed  me  that  father  was  yet  alive  and  had  come  to 
Chicago  and  had  found  me.  I  realized  the  thought 
at  once  that  God  had  taken  hold  of  me.  I  began  to 
laugh,  my  tears  dried  up.  I  forgot  all  about  overcoats 
and  cold  streets,  for  I  was  born  anew.  I  did  not  wait 

for  ten  o’clock  to  come,  but  went  out  the  happiest  fel¬ 
low  on  the  streets  of  Chicago  that  night.  As  far  as 

I  can  trace  the  exact  date  of  that  night,  it  was  the 
twenty-fourth,  or  the  twenty-fifth  of  December,  1885. 
Three  weeks  after  that,  I  was  in  Missouri,  at  Park- 
ville,  as  a  Park  College  student.  I  was  informed  of 
Park  College,  and  helped  enter  there  by  Mr.  Mishoff, 


8 


a  Princeton  student,  who  happened  to  be  in  Chicago 
at  that  time.  He  knew  my  address  and  providentially 
looked  me  up.  When  I  got  to  the  College,  I  had  two  dol¬ 
lars  and  a  few  cents  in  my  pocket  as  a  starter,  but  deter¬ 
mined  to  stay  till  I  should  get  through.  The  above  amount 
and  two  more  dollars  was  all  the  money  I  had  to  spend 
the  first  year,  if  not  for  a  year  and  a  half.  At  Park 
College,  along  with  the  rest  of  the  students,  I  work¬ 
ed  and  studied  for  seven  years;  and  by  God’s  help 
when  the  Commencement  of  ’93  came,  I  had  my  Col¬ 
lege  diploma  in  my  hand,  and  three  dollars  and  thirty 
five  cents  in  my  pockets. 


Bulgaria. 

It  is  ten  years  ago  since  I  stood  on  the  sidewalk  in 
front  of  the  saloon,  but  the  words,  u  Return  to  Bul¬ 
garia  and  preach,”  have  not  died  away  ;  on  the  con¬ 
trary,  they  have  been  the  theme  of  my  life  while  in 
college  and  in  the  seminary.  The  first  thought,  u  Re¬ 
turn  to  Bulgaria,”  was  indefinite,  but  the  ten  years  of 
study  and  meditation  have  made  it  more  definite  and 
clear.  A  glance  at  the  map  puts  before  our  eyes 
Bulgaria  and  the  six  countries  which  surround  her  : 
Russia,  Roumania,  European  Turkey,  Servia,  Greece, 
and  Montenegro.  If  Bulgaria  needs  the  Gospel,  these 
six  states  need  it  more.  Political  and  religious  peace 
will  never  bless  these  countries  until  the  Gospel  has 
reached  them  all. 

Bulgaria  holds  to  the  doctrines  and  traditions  of  the 
Greek  Orthodox  Church,  which  is  the  dominant  re¬ 
ligion  in  the  seven  states  just  named,  numbering  about 
one  hundred  million  adherents  in  all.  The  Orthodox 
Church  is  ritualistic,  more  so  than  the  Roman  Catholic. 
It  is  not  strongly  organized  as  is  the  Paj)al.  The 
power  of  the  church  does  not  center  in  one  man,  as  in 
a  pope.  Each  country  is  ruled  ecclesiastically  within 
itself.  The  Orthodox  Church  claims  no  political  pow¬ 
er  as  does  the  Roman. 

In  the  fifteenth  century,  while  Western  Europe  was 
being  stirred  by  the  Reformation  from  her  sleep  of  the 


9 


‘‘Dark  Ages,”  while  the  people  of  Western  Europe 
had  time  to  think  and  sx^eak  of  liberty  and  of  religion, 
the  people  of  Eastern  Europe,  on  the  contrary,  were 
breathing  their  life  against  the  invasions  of  the  Turks. 
When  the  Turks  crossed  the  Dardanelles  and  the  Bos¬ 
phorus,  into  Europe,  they  advanced,  fighting  for  every 
inch  of  ground,  as  far  as  Central  Europe  to  the  North, 
Italy  to  the  West,  and  beyond  Crimea  to  the  East, 
conquering  and  keeping  in  subjection  these  lands 
for  nearly  five  centuries.  No  advancement  in  civiliza- 

C/ 

tion  or  religion  was  possible,  and  the  Reformation 
never  penetrated  these  countries.  Let  no  one  look 
upon  these  lands  in  disgrace,  because  it  has  been  their 
misfortune  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Turks.  There 
is  no  disgrace  to  a  man  who  falls  dead  in  battle.  On 
the  contrary,  honor  is  due  to  him  by  his  comrades  who 
happen  to  come  out  of  the  battle  alive.  Had  not  these 
nations  checked  the  advancing  Turks,  though  finally 
they  fell  a  prey  into  their  hands,  the  whole  of  Europe 
might  have  been  swept  by  Mohammedanism,  and  today, 
instead  of  the  Bible,  Shakespeare,  the  Classics,  the  Arts 
and  Sciences  being  taught  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge, 
the  Koran  might  have  been  chanted  yet. 

But  a  new  era  of  religion  and  liberty  is  dawning 
upon  Bulgaria  and  the  six  neighboring  states.  Turkish 
rule  has  been  driven  out  of  these  countries,  only  a 
small  strip  in  Europe  being  left  in  their  hands  at 
present.  ^  Considered  from  the  stamhpoint  of  religion 
and  liberty,  Bulgaria  is  the  most  conspicuous  sx)ot  of 
land  in  all  of  Eastern  Eurox3e.  In  the  last  twenty 
years  no  other  country  on  the  face  of  the  globe  has 
witnessed  such  scenes  of  stirring  events  as  Bulgaria. 
The  political,  the  social  and  religious  warfares,  have 
awakened  the  people  to  thinking  and  to  self-assertion. 
New  forces  and  influences  have  fallen  to  the  lot  of 
Bulgaria,  which  have  not  only  advanced  her  over  and 
above  her  neighbors  in  political  attainments,  in  social 
develojunents,  in  intellectual  progress,  and  in  religious 
awakening,  but  also  fill  us  with  the  lio|)e  that  the 
rise  and  salvation  of  Bulgaria  shall  serve  for  the  rising 
and  salvation  of  the  neighboring  countries. 


10 


Today,  liberty  of  the  press,  liberty  of  speech,  and 
liberty  ot^  religion,  are  public  rights  in  Bulgaria. 
Every  man  in  Bulgaria  has  the  right  to  express  his 
opinion  on  public,  religious  or  social  matters  through 
the  press  or  by  speech.  Every  man  is  at  liberty  to 
profess  whatever  religion  he  chooses.  In  fact,  the 
ruler  of  Bulgaria  has  not  been  bound  down  to  a  partic¬ 
ular  creed  ;  for  the  first  ruler,  Alexander,  was  a  Pro¬ 
testant,  and  the  present  ruler,  Ferdinand,  is  a  Homan 
Catholic.  But  Bulgaria  is  conspicuous  for  more  than 
that.  There  are  about  six  hundred  thousand  Turks 
living  in  Bulgaria  now.  No  efforts,  whatever,  have  at 
any  time  been  put  forth  to  christianize  the  Turks,  and 
there  is  no  missionary  work  of  any  kind  being  done 
for  them  anywhere  in  the  world,  for  the  very  simple 
reason  that  the  Turkish  government  will  not  permit 
any  Turks  to  be  converted,  or  anybody  to  try  to  con 
vert  a  Turk.  But  with  the  600,000  Turks  in  Bulgaria 
it  is  entirely  a  different  matter.  We  are  free  to  con- 
vert  every  Turk  there,  no  government  being  in  the  way, 
but  rather  the  support  of  the  Bulgarian  government. 
There  are  also  many  Russians  and  Roumanians  and 
Servians  and  Montenegreans  living  in  Bulgaria  to  whom 
we  can  not  preach  the  gospel  in  their  own  country,  for 
the  same  reason  as  in  Turkey.  The  people  have  no  lib¬ 
erty  to  think  regarding  their  own  religious  welfare,  and 
no  missionaries  are  free  to  enter  these  countries  around 
Bulgaria  to  preach  the  gospel.  But  in  Bulgaria  all 
can  preach  and  believe  freely. 

Where  could  we  look  for  a  more  inviting  field  to  put 
our  efforts  for  Christ  and  Christian  principles  than 
Bulgaria?  The  existing  conditions  in  Bulgaria  are 
opportunities  for  us  of  rare  possibilities.  Not  only  is 
the  evangelization  of  Bulgaria  before  us,  but  I  believe 
that  Gfod  has  placed  Bulgaria  in  the  midst  of  these  six 
countries  of  the  same  religion,  of  kindred  language, 
the  same  traditions,  for  the  purpose  that  Bulgaria 
might  be  the  means  of  reviving  the  entire  Greek,  or 
the  Orthodox  Church.  To  realize  our  hopes  for  the 
reviving  of  the  church,  we  are  aiming  to  establish 


A  Gospel  Printing  Press  in  Bulgaria. 


Only  when  we  see  the  immensity  of  the  work,  and 
only  when  we  undertake  to  evangelize  these  countries 
will  we  feel  the  need  for  establishing  a  Christian  Press 
in  Bulgaria  to  be  used  as  a  means  of  accomplishing 
the  task.  There  is  no  power  so  potent  in  wielding  and 
moulding  public  opinion  and  the  religious  sentiment 
of  a  people  as  the  printing  press.  The  press  is  the 
means  of  conveyance  of  a  man’s  brain  and  heart  power 
and  of  implanting  his  principles  upon  others.  Ten 
men  of  able  minds  and  consecrated  hearts  banded  to¬ 
gether  and  equipped  with  a  printing  press,  will  accom¬ 
plish  more  toward  the  evangelization  of  Bulgaria  than 
two  hundred  missionaries  could. 

We  must  have  a  Gospel  Printing  Press  established 
in  Bulgaria,  if  we  do  not,  we  let  slip  a  golden  oppor¬ 
tunity  in  the  history  of  Christian  missions  and 
Christian  liberty.  Bulgaria  is  the  battle  ground  where 
the  problem  of  religion  in  the  Orthodox  Church  will 
be  fought  out.  It  is  not  an  easy  task  to  lay  hold  upon 
the  press  of  a  country,  it  may  mean  everything,  but  if 
Bulgaria  is  to  be  like  a  Gibraltar  in  Eastern  Europe 
for  the  cause  of  religion  and  liberty,  no  effort,  no  cost, 
no  prayer  must  be  spared. 


Begin  with  a  Newspaper. 


The  work  is  to  be  commenced  by  starting  a  newspaper, 
not  merely  a  Sunday  School  paper.  For  by  a  purely 
religious  paper  the  work  'will  never  in  the  world  be 
accomplished.  The  newspaper  is  the  diary  of  a  people, 
the  written  records  of  a  nation’s  every  day  life  in  the 
week,  not  the  records  of  a  Sunday  life  only,  but  the 
records  of  six  days  of  struggle  for  existence  also. 
People  can  not  live  on  religion  only.  But  by  dealing 
with  the  various  problems  of  life  which  directly  con¬ 
cern  all  classes  of  the  people,  this  newspaper,  which 
stands  for  Christian  principles  in  whatever  sphere  of 
life,  would  make  its  way  into  the  homes  of  the  people. 
The  proper  discussions  of  the  great  questions  of  church 


12 


and  state,  of  religion,  of  social  science,  of  commerce, 
of  industry,  of  “bread  and  butter,”  will  make  tire 
paper  of  popular  interest.  We  begin  so,  but  by  no 
means  do  we  propose  to  stop  here,  satisfied  by  one 
newspaper,  and  one  printing  establishment. 

Bulgaria  has  several  hundred  students  attending 
universities  in  foreign  countries, — in  Germany,  Austria, 
Prance,  Russia,  England,  Robert  College  in  Constanti¬ 
nople,  and  not  a  few  in  America.  There  is  a  constant  How 
of  these  young  men  back  to  Bulgaria,  returning  from 
foreign  lands.  Each  returning  student  carries  back  to 
Bulgaria  his  ideas  which  he  has  formed  in  Germany, 
France,  Austria,  Russia,  England  or  America.  But 
Bulgaria  is  the  theatre  where  these  different  ideas 
clash  ;  and  the  prevailing  idea  will  largely  determine 
the  future  Bulgaria.  By  having  an  institution  of  a 
Christian  press,  not  a  few  of  these  men  will  unite 
themselves  for  concerted  and  effective  action. 

A  few  years  ago  a  member  of  the  American  Legation 
at  Constantinople  had  a  conference  with  a  prominent 
Turkish  official.  The  American  was  trying  to  convince 
the  Turk  that  the  work  of  the  missionaries  was  not 
political,  but  moral  and  educational.  While  he  was 
advancing  his  arguments,  the  Turk  interrupted  with 
the  question,  “  Do  you  know  the  cause  for  the  separa¬ 
tion  of  Bulgaria  from  the  Empire  %  ’  ’  (Turkish  Empire.) 
“  I  think  that  I  understand  some  of  the  causes,”  re¬ 
plied  the  American.  “Yes,  you  do,  but  the  funda¬ 
mental  cause  was  that  College  on  the  hill.  We  under¬ 
stand  that,”  said  the  Turk.  By  “  that  College  on  the 
hill”  he  referred  to  Robert  College,  the  American  in¬ 
stitution  on  the  Bosphorus. 

Immediately  after  the  Independence  of  Bulgaria, 
eighteen  years  ago,  when  Representatives  were  chosen 
by  the  people  to  attend  the  first  National  Assembly, 
for  the  purpose  of  choosing  a  ruler  and  to  adopt  the 
Constitution,  something  between  the  number  of  twelve 
and  twenty  of  the  Representatives  elected  by  the 
people,  were  Robert  College  men,  one  out  of  every  nine 
or  ten.  Prince  Alexander,  a  Protestant,  a  hero  in  the 
war  of  Independence,  and  who  afterwards  proved  to 
be  the  foremost  defender  of  Free  Bulgaria,  was  chosen 


to  be  the  ruler.  One  of  his  prime  ministers  was  h 
Robert  College  graduate.  The  recently  assassinated 
ex-premier  of  Bulgaria,  “a  typical  child  of  his  country 
to  the  backbone,’’  whose  purpose  was  the  deliverance 
of  Bulgaria  from  foreign  interference  and  the  main¬ 
tenance  of  personal  liberty,  in  the  pursuit  of  which  he 
knew  neither  friend  or  enemy,  the  staunchest  and  the 
most  high-spirited  supporters  of  his  “ Platform”  con¬ 
sisted  of  Robert  College  men.  The  present  premier, 
Mr.  Stoeloff,  who  was  chosen  to  take  his  place,  and  the 
minister  of  finance,  in  the  same  cabinet,  are  both 
graduates  of  the  same  College. 

The  oldest  existing  Bulgarian  newspaper  to-day, 
u  The  Morning  Star is  a  paper  published  by  the 
American  missionaries  at  Constantinople.  Its  editor, 
Mr.  Byington,  gave  his  own  soul  to  this  paper,  and 
died  over  his  desk,  but  a  more  prophetic  name  than 
“The  morning  Star,”  could  not  crown  the  sacred 
memories  of  those  Americans  who  first  in- modern  re¬ 
vival  of  religion  carried  the  Gospel  to  Bulgaria,  and 
kindled  the  spirit  of  liberty  in  her  youth. 

We  need  a  steam  printing  press,  which  with  all 
the  necessary  equipments  will  cost  between  two  and 
three  thousand  dollars.  With  about  two  thousand 
dollars  a  good  location  for  the  press  can  be  secured. 
The  expenses  of  a  man  to  preach  and  at  the  same  time 
be  of  assistance  to  the  press,  will  be  about  four  hundred 
dollars  a  year.  About  three  hundred  dollars  a  year 
will  pay  the  wages  of  a  good  printer  in  Bulgaria.  The 
other  expenses  will  be  mainly  for  paper,  ink,  and  for 
distribution. 

Friend,  I  lay  Bulgaria  and  this  Gospel  Printing 
Press  at  your  door.  If  you  are  led  to  see  anything  in 
this  cause,  let  the  cause  itself  speak  to  you,  what  you 
can  do,  but  I  can  not  and  I  will  not  beg.  For  the 
evangelization  of  the  world  is  not  man’s,  but  God’s 
cause.  You  and  I  are  co-workers.  Can  you  buy  the 
printing  press,  or  can  you  contribute  something  toward 
it  \  We  can  use  it  with  great  effect  to  the  end  specified. 
You  have  as  much  to  say  as  any  one  whether  this  work 
shall  be  started  or  not,  for  work  of  this  kind  involves 


14 


financial  backing  up.  In  order  that  the  project  might 
not  be  precipitated  by  lack  of*  means,  when  we  have 
once  started  it,  we  must  be  backed  up  financially  by 
you.  The  way  to  do  this  is  a  promise  on  your  part  to 
contribute  annually  a  definite  amount  of  your  choice, 
for  a  certain  number  of  years.  For  instance,  you  de¬ 
sire  to  contribute  $10,  $25,  $50,  $100  a  year  to  be  ap¬ 
plied  for  the  carrying  on  of  a  particular  branch  of  the 
work  of  the  press,  as  you  might  designate.  We  would 
like  that  you  should  promise,  by  God’s  help,  to  do  so 
each  year,  for  eight  or  ten  years,  if  so  needed.  I  have 
no  doubt  but  that  in  a  few  years  the  work  of  the  x>ress 
itself  will  become  self-supporting.  But  for  the  present 
it  must  be  started  by  you.  We  must  begin  the  work 
on  such  a  plan  as  this,  because  we  will  have  to  fight 
our  way  through.  We  not  only  must  have  the  best 
pax)ers,  but  we  must  have  them  so  cheap  that  the  poor¬ 
est  of  the  x>eople  might  have  them,  money  or  no  money. 

The  Bulgarian  Evangelical  Society,  the  object  of 
whose  existence  is  the  evangelization  of  Bulgaria,  is 
the  proper,  organized  body  to  own  the  printing  press 
and  to  have  its  management  in  charge.  The  society  is 
a  body  holding  property  according  to  the  laws  of  the 
country.  In  the  membership  of  the  society  we  read  the 
names  of  all  the  missionaries  of  the  American  Board 
who  are  working  in  Bulgaria,  prominent  among  whom  are 
Dr.  I.  H.  House,  Dr.  H.  K.  Haskel,  Dr.  F.  L.  Kings¬ 
bury,  Rev.  J.  F.  Clark,  Rev.  George  D.  Marsh,  Rev. 
Robert  Thompson  and  others.  The  president  of  the 
society,  the  Rev.  Marko  N.  Popoff,  pastor  of  the  church 
at  Sophia,  is  a  Hamilton  College  man,  and  also  a  grad¬ 
uate  of  Auburn  Theological  Seminary.  All  of  the 
leading  Christians  in  Bulgaria  are  active  members  of 
that  organization.  It  is  safe  and  for  the  best  to  put 
the  press  and  its  management  into  the  hands  of  the 
Bulgarian  Evangelical  Society,  whose  headquarters  are 
in  Sophia,  Bulgaria,  Europe. 

I  remain  faithfully  yours, 

STEPHEN  MOMCHILOFF, 

Auburn  Theological  Seminary, 
October  1st,  1896.  Auburn,  N.  Y. 

After  November  1st,  address  corres¬ 
pondence  to  me  at  Sophia,  Bulgaria, 


The  Bulgarian  Evangelical  Society. 


Sophia,  Bulgaria,  February  25th,  1896. 

This  is  to  certify  that  the  Bulgarian  Evangelical 
Society,  which  is  now  in  the  twenty-first  year  of  its 
existence,  has  full  confidence  in  Mr.  Stephen  Monchi- 
loff,  a  student  of  Auburn  Theological  Seminary,  and 
authorizes  him  to  collect  funds  for  a  printing  press  to 
be  used  by  the  same  society  for  printing  religious  and 
moral  literature,  and  of  which  the  society  has  a  great 
need.  Mr.  Momchiloff  is  authorized,  in  addition  to  the 
printing  press,  to  collect  funds  for  its  maintenance  and 
for  a  home  for  the  society,  which  is  one  of  its  most 
urgent  needs.  This  society  has  its  headquarters  in 
Sophia,  the  capital  of  Bulgaria,  where  it  has  for  years 
maintained  a  Bible  depot.  By  securing  a  home  of  its 
own  a  heavy  rent  will  be  saved  for  other  evangelical 
purposes.  The  proposed  building  will  contain,  beside 
the  Bible  depot,  a  reading  room  and  a  hall  for  religious 
services  and  other  morally  uplifting  entertainments 
for  young  and  old. 

A  most, suitable  site  in  the  heart  of  the  city  has 
already  been  secured  and  paid  for.  Also  about  one 
thousand  dollars  for  the  building  itself  has  been  col¬ 
lected.  About  four  thousand  dollars  more  will  enable 
us  to  erect  a  substantial  building  which  will  be  a  means 
for  doing  a  great  good. 

Therefore,  we  again  commend  Mr.  Momchiloff  to  the 
liberality  of  all  who  want  to  help  in  the  Gospel  en¬ 
lightenment  of  the  Bulgarians  and  the  rest  of  the 
Balkan  nations. 

The  Bulgarian  Evangelical  Society  is  undenomina¬ 
tional. 

Sealed  and  signed  by 

President,  M.  IS".  Popoff, 
Secretary,  J.  S.  Popoff. 

Contributions  for  the  “  Press”  should  be 
sent  in  the  form  of  drafts  on  London, 
to  Rev.  Marko  N.  Popoff,  of  the  Bul¬ 
garian  Evangelical  Society,  Sophia, 

Bulgaria. 


